Keeping
moms and babies safe
St. Thomas-Elgin General
Hospital
St.
Thomas-Elgin General Hospital
announces implementation of the
MOREOB Program
Article
appeared in the
St. Thomas Times-Journal at
www.stthomastimesjournal.com
on March 7, 2009
When it
comes to birthing babies, St.
Thomas-Elgin General Hospital
has a new program in place which
aims to keep mothers and their
newborns as safe as possible
while in hospital care.
Called Managing Obstetrical
Risk Efficiency (MOREOB), it's
a three-year program which aims
to boost patient safety by
bringing doctors, nurses and
other obstetric personnel
together and creating a culture
wherein safety is key.
"Every obstetrical unit in
this program will develop and
sustain a culture where patient
safety is the priority ...
focusing on patient safety all
the time. And not just in
emergency situations," said
Colleen Aguilar, MOREOB
representative. "It's not about
setting unrealistic goals ... .
It's about seeing those results
on a day-to-day basis."
The program boosts safety by
increasing communication between
staff, bringing them together as
a team and practicing through
emergency drills.
Each year, everyone in
obstetrics goes through a
module, with support and
training from MOREOB staff.
The first year, for instance,
involves a lot of reading and
review of clinical examination
practices which everyone is
required to read.
"I guarantee you will see a
cultural change at the end of
this module," said Dr. Jim
Ruiter. From there, reading
declines and practical skills
training is emphasized.
Ruiter explained that
clinical error is a serious
problem for the medical
profession. He listed a 2004
report in the Canadian Medical
Association Journal stating that
between 9,000 and 24,000 die
every year as a result of errors
by health care providers.
"It's obviously a very
important program. The health
care industry has learned a lot
about the issues of unintended
error that has become
well-studied now," said STEGH
CEO Paul Collins. "As an
industry now we're paying much
closer attention to things that
cause error. This MOREOB
program is really going to help
us in this endeavour."
TD Canada Trust donated
$50,000 over two years to help
offset the costs of the program,
estimated at $50,000 to $60,000
per year.
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